Enhanced inclusion and accessibility in education and training through virtual worlds

Abstract

Based on the evolution of immersive technologies, both in software and hardware, this article proposes a methodology for creating accessible and inclusive virtual worlds, with potential impacts on education, training, and lifelong learning. Through this paradigm, the combination of real and virtual cosmos generates new challenges in accessibility and inclusion. The co-existence of virtuality in tangible real life could be extended respectively in a wide spectrum of everyday life for enhanced inclusion and accessibility. New business models and even more accessible services in training and education could be raised through this suggestion. Metaverse, omniverse, and the advancements in extended reality equipment are the main allies in this endeavor. Artificial intelligence and enhanced experiences via advanced immersion could find easily their role in the context of meaningful virtual worlds in lifelong learning. As we are in the dove of the Metaverse era this is a unique opportunity to build accessible and inclusive virtual worlds from the very beginning.